On July 17th, 2026, the European Commission presented its long-awaited ETS revision proposal. Most notable features of the proposal are the reduced speed of the annual reductions of available allowances as of 2030 while free allocation, which was supposed to be phased out by 2034 for sectors covered by CBAM, can be extended until 2038 under certain conditions – i.e. companies enjoying such an extension will be subject to mandatory investments in decarbonisation.
At the same time, the scope of ETS is extended to municipal waste and more aviation routes between airports in the European Union and outside of the EU territory.
For shipping, the most significant change is the proposed extension of ETS Maritime to ships between 400-5,000 GT. At the same time, the text foresees the earmarking of revenues (110 million allowances, which will amount to around EUR 10 billion.) for the shipping sector, in particular to support the production, distribution and uptake of sustainable fuels.
The ETS revision is put on the table in a context where the EU seeks to reconcile its ambitions in terms of decarbonisation and industrial competitiveness. For ports, the Commission introduces a number of measures to safeguard the competitiveness of EU players vis-a-vis ports and terminals situated outside the EU, such as in the Southern Mediterranean or the UK, such as:
- The proposed revisions allow expanding the list “of neighbouring container transhipment ports” based on parameters such as the percentage of transhipment traffic, and berth and draught length. With these amendments, the Commission seeks to discourage from adding another stop in a non-EU port close by before reaching a port in the European Union. According to Commissioner Hoekstra, this measure can lead to the inclusion of 20+ ports in the list;
- The proposal includes targeted measures that should level the playing field for EU transhipment ports and terminals that are faced with non-EU competitors by applying reductions to some voyages based on the share of containers with a non-EU destination and distance travelled by the calling ship.
FEPORT takes note of the Commission’s efforts to combat transhipment evasion and expresses its appreciation for the recognition of evasion risks faced by ports in the EU. FEPORT looks forward to working with policy makers to further enhance the text and strengthen the provisions aiming at combating negative impacts on the competitiveness of EU ports.
